Reading books saved actress Meg Tilly

Meg Tilly read to students from Severn Avenue Public School from her children's novels 'Behind The Scenes' and 'A taste of Heaven'. OTTAWA, ONT., MAY 9, 2014-- (Pat McGrath/OTTAWA CITIZEN) ASSIGNMENT #117014 ARTS story by Tony Lofaro SAXO--0510 tilly VIDEO--NO

Photograph by: PAT McGRATH
, Ottawa Citizen

Growing up in rural Texada Island in British Columbia, actress Meg Tilly sought refuge in books to ease the pain of a difficult childhood.

She would bring home the maximum number allowed from the local library as did her sisters and the girls would swap books to feed a growing appetite for learning. And after devouring books by her favourite authors Meg would get her sisters to take out books by the same authors so she could read those.

“Books saved me growing up. We didn’t have any TV and books were a way for me to learn other ways of living than the one I was growing up in,” said the Academy Award nominated actress Friday. Tilly was at Severn Avenue Public School Friday morning to read excerpts from her young adult novels titled Behind The Scenes and Taste of Heaven — to more than 40 students.

“It was a refuge, but also a window to learning what my morals and values and certain things were,” said Tilly.

She was born in Long Beach, Calif. to a Canadian schoolteacher and an Chinese-American businessman. Following her parents divorce when she was three, she was raised by her mother and a stepfather in British Columbia where the family, which included four children, struggled to make ends meet.

She remembers eating a squirrel and one time even cooking rattlesnake. As a teenager, she was beaten and sexually abused by her stepfather and other men. She was forced to live in a kennel outside the home because of what the adults called her bad behaviour.

With the help of reading and a talent for balley, she survived. But her promising career as a ballerina ended when she broke her back at age 20. She then turned to acting. She won roles in in Fame and later The Big Chill and Agnes of God, which won her a Golden Globe and earned her an Academy Award nomination. She was last seen in the Global TV-series Bomb Girls for which she won a Canadian Screen Award in 2013.

Tilly said she’s read from her novels to dozens of schools over the last number of years, something she enjoys doing as she waits at home in Toronto with her husband for the next interesting movie or television project to come along. She says she may be doing a film next winter but she has turned offers to do another TV series, preferring instead to be at home with her family and concentrate on her writing.

“I hope to inspire kids. When I go to a hard-knocks school, I tell the kids you can go wherever your imagination takes you. Some take that advice and some can’t, but for those who do, it can make a difference.

“I know that when I read at schools, and if they know beforehand that the books are going to be there, when I leave there is a lineup and I’m signing books for about an hour. A book can turn people around, I don’t know if mine do, but I know when you don’t have all the distractions, kids do light up when they’re reading.”

She’s written six novels and young adult books since 1994. Her first novel Singing Songs was about a young girl and her sisters who are molested by their stepfather. Her newest work, Behind The Scenes, will be published later this month.

Saturday at 10:30 a.m. as part of the Ottawa International Writers Festival, Tilly will lead a writing workshop at the Ottawa Public Library branch on Bank Street and then at 2:30 p.m. she will read from her books. Call the festival at 613-562-1243 for more details about today’s events.

Tilly says writing did not come easily for her.

“I didn’t know how to spell and the rules about writing. I didn’t have third and fourth grade, so I didn’t learn those things. I also flipped letters and numbers and I didn’t know I was dyslexic until later,” said Tilly.

Still, she says, writing has given her a “voice” and she’s been able to put words down on paper and shape them into stories with the help of others. “It took 10 years for me to write fiction and I’m writing pretty much on a daily basis.

“The age that I’m writing for now are the people I want to write for now. I want to instil some of my life lessons,” she said.

Students at Severn Avenue Public School said they were impressed by the reading, especially when Tilly acted out the parts of the main characters.

Shryreek Phillips said he enjoyed hearing Tilly’s message of surviving despite overcoming adversities in her life.

“Even though she came from a rough childhood and she didn’t have a proper education she was still able to make something of herself and write books that kids can enjoy,” said Shyreek, 11, a Grade 6 student.

Alannah Eastman hopes to be a writer one day and said Tilly’s talk was inspiring.

“I enjoyed how she told us that she came from rough times to what she is today. I love writing and I love what she told us what had inspired her. She definitely inspired me today to keep writing,” said Alannah, 10, a Grade 5 student.

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Meg Tilly read to students from Severn Avenue Public School from her children's novels 'Behind The Scenes' and 'A taste of Heaven'. OTTAWA, ONT., MAY 9, 2014-- (Pat McGrath/OTTAWA CITIZEN) ASSIGNMENT #117014 ARTS story by Tony Lofaro SAXO--0510 tilly VIDEO--NO

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